Born in London, James Irvine graduated in 1984 from the Royal College of Art, London. In the same year he moved to Milan. From 1984 to 1992, he was a design consultant for Olivetti design studio Milan, under the direction of Michele De Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass. In 1987 he worked for one year at the Toshiba Design Centre in Tokyo. He returned to Milan in 1988 and opened his private design studio. His first clientes were Cappellini and SCP. From 1993 to 1997, in parallel to his private studio, he was a partner of Sottsass Associati, responsable for the studio’s industrial design group.

In 2004 he was the guest of honour at the fair Interieur in Kortrijk and was also elected Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts in London. In 2007 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Design from Kingston University.

The Studio

Studio Irvine is a design studio based in Milan and run by the architect Marialaura Rossiello Irvine.
Studio Irvine remains faithful to the design approach and method developed by James Irvine, in a combination of irony and precision. The cross-disciplinary philosophy pursued by the studio denotes a constant inclination and curiosity towards all types and scales of projects: from the design of a bus to that of a pen, from the art direction of a company to that of launching a new design brand.
In its 30-year history, the studio has woven a dense network of interactive relations among “fabbriche del design”, makers, artisans, graphic designers, curators, journalists, photographers and designers. Driven by a diversity of expertise, skills and visions in a common creative process focused on each new specific project.
The studio is a place whose rich collection of objects, prototypes, pictures, souvenirs, collections, drawings and history provides a continuing source of inspiration.

Marialaura Rossiello Irvine

Born on the slopes of Vesuvius, Marialaura Rossiello graduated in Architecture in Naples under Riccardo Dalisi. From the poetry of design and a deep respect for tradition and history, in 2000 she was catapulted into the capital of Italian design for a master in Strategic Design at the Politecnico. Concreteness became a challenge, marketing, communication and strategy the keynote. For a number of years she collaborated with Italian design brands, and grew accustomed to consider the product within a comprehensive corporate process. Then, after meeting James Irvine, she moved on tiptoe into a different British atmosphere. In 2011 she became a partner of his firm, where industrial products were the throbbing heart of design.